Man Who Attacked Indian-Origin Woman In Singapore Wants Nine Months In Prison

The prosecution has argued before a court that a 32-year-old man who racially harassed and kicked an Indian-origin lady in Singapore in 2021 deserves a sentence of six to nine months in prison, according to PTI. In the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic, in May 2021, Wong Xing Fong assaulted Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai in Choa Chu Kang, a residential area in Singapore’s West Region. The Straits Times, a newspaper published in Singapore, reported on this on Tuesday.

Nita, 57, had said in court that on May 7, 2021, she was briskly going toward Choa Chu Kang Stadium while wearing a mask when she heard shouts. Nita was instructed to “mask up” by Wong and his fiancée Chua Yun Han, who she did not know. At the time, Singapore permitted individuals to take their masks off while doing vigorous exercise; all that was required was that they put them back on afterward.

According to the deputy public prosecutor Marcus Foo, Nita told Wong and his fiancée that she was walking quickly and made gestures to indicate that she was working out and perspiring. The accused instead reprimanded the plaintiff (and verbally attacked her),” the prosecution said. The complainant said “God bless you” in an effort to defuse the situation.

 

However, the complainant received a kick to the chest from the accused. The two of them then started to run away.

 

Nita said that an onlooker pulled her to her feet and dressed a cut on her left forearm with plaster. Wong, however, had previously said that she was combative, caustic, and had shouted obscenities at him. He also said that when she spat at him and his fiancée, he pushed Nita out of anger. He acknowledged using profanity, but he said they weren’t racist insults.

 

The Deputy Public Prosecutor praised Nita as a trustworthy witness and said, “It is absurd to suggest that the complainant framed the accused, a stranger, out of the blue.”

 

In June of this year, Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan found Wong guilty of one count of assault and one count of injuring the victim’s ethnic emotions. Deputy Public Prosecutor Foo requested that Wong get a sentence that was on the longer end of the acceptable range. Foo emphasized the value of racial and communal peace and said that Wong had committed major offenses that required severe deterrence. The prosecutor also mentioned how the case had significantly sparked public unrest.

 

However, Wong’s defense attorney Sim Bing Wen urged with the court to sentence his client to two weeks in prison, claiming that Wong was a kind guy who cared about others and had behaved inappropriately.

 

On August 7, Wong is anticipated to get a sentence. According to Singaporean legislation, an offender who assaults another person in a racially motivated attack may get a sentence of up to four years and six months in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 Singaporean Dollars ($7500).